Kuala lumpur: National women's singles head coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin wants his two leading players, K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching, to shift their mentality from merely chasing ranking points to being more courageous in challenging the world's top players moving forward.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Iskandar said the challenge he has set for world No. 28 Letshanaa and world No. 36 Ling Ching should be embraced starting with the 2026 Japan Open and 2026 China Open as part of long-term preparations towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA 2028).
"Players need to have the character of national women's singles players, so they must be more brave and then challenge foreign players. With confidence, I think they have already proven before that they can play well. They need to be hungrier, because if they only go to collect points, it is useless as well," he told reporters after a training session here today.
The Japan Open (Super 750) is scheduled from July 14-19, followed by the China Open (Super 1000) from July 21-26, while the LA 2028 qualification campaign runs from May 3, 2027 to April 30, 2028.
Acknowledging that changing mentality takes time, Iskandar hopes his players will remain on track to consistently challenge higher-ranked opponents. "Sometimes their game plan can drop off; for me, they need to be more consistent in trying to challenge top 10 or top 20 players," he said.
Iskandar also said Letshanaa and Ling Ching's participation in the 2026 World Championships, scheduled from Aug 17-23 in New Delhi, will be part of preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
Meanwhile, Ling Ching admitted she is not setting specific targets for the Japan Open, instead focusing on improving her performance, executing her game plan and regaining confidence after her form was affected by injury. The 22-year-old has previously suffered several injuries, including hip and back issues during a training camp ahead of the 2026 Uber Cup in Horsens, Denmark, last April. The Miri-born player also said the level of competition in Super 750 tournaments is much higher, and she is still adapting her playing style to compete more consistently at the highest level.